The invention concerns a splint for immobilization of a joint, which is to be worn on the joint to be immobilized, wherein the splint comprises at least one flat body that has at least two contact surfaces for limbs adjoining the joint to be immobilized, wherein a supporting member is provided, which in its outer contour has an angle structure for adjusting and bracing an angle between the contact surfaces for the limbs.
When the muscles of the human body are strained, injuries repeatedly occur in daily life, at work, and during recreation, which make it necessary to immobilize them with inclusion of one or more joints, in order to ensure complication-free healing.
Injuries to the bones, tendons, muscles, nerves or blood vessels often involve considerable pain. This is true especially for fractured bones and soft tissue injuries. Symptoms of this are pain upon movement, exertion, pressure or extension, as well as bleeding. Especially common are injuries in recreational sports and athletics, as well as in daily life. Many of the injuries and pain conditions occurring in these areas necessitate the provision of a splint.
For minor injuries and sprains, in addition to immobilization it is also customary to apply cold and elevate the affected body part. Furthermore, immobilizing tape dressings, ointment dressings, and zinc paste dressings, as well as physical therapy, braces and bandages are used.
Splint dressings are used exclusively for serious injuries or pain conditions. The affected body part with the inclusion of one or more joints is immobilized by use of a splint or ready-to-wear brace in this case. Splints made from materials such as natural plaster, thermoplastics, fiberglass or polyester, as well as ready-to-wear braces made of plastic or aluminum are usually employed for this.
Ready-to-wear braces and custom-made splints differ in that the immobilization of one or more joints after applying a custom-made splint requires fixation with a bandage. Ready-to-wear braces, on the other hand, are provided with hook-and-eye closure systems that perform the fixation. Due to the more costly manufacturing, ready-to-wear braces are used exclusively in long-term care situations, for cost factors. For short-term applications, splints are used that are prepared and individually adjusted by the physician himself.
Splint care is time-consuming and cost-intensive, since individual preparation and adjustment is necessary. Due to the heavy weight of the material with sharp edges caused by the processing method, such splints are often uncomfortable to wear. The applying and preparing of such splint dressings, such as the shaping of the plaster into the medically desired splint with no sharp edges, requires special skills and knowledge, which requires special education and training.
With such known splint systems it is not possible to quickly apply a splint at the scene of an injury just suffered, so that the affected joint or body part can be immobilized to prevent further worsening of the injury in the near future. Nor can such splints be used when injuries affecting the skin are to be treated, since traditional splint systems cannot be removed flexibly and then put back in place again.